Snape, Harry, and Hermione (was:Re: JKR, Harry Potter, and the Nature of Evil)

[angela_burgess at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 19662

> I think the important question here is why Snape so dislikes
> Harry and Hermione, because that's the logical motive for his
> nastiness.  I don't think a person has to be more than naturally
> blackhearted (we all are, to an extent) to make unkind remarks
> about people he doesn't like.  I know I've =thought= plenty of
> them, though I normally don't vocalize them.
> 
> (And I do find it a little surprising that so many people on this
> list come down so VERY hard on Snape for one nasty crack.  I
> wonder how many of them he had to endure, in his own school days,
> from people like the ones who magicked them into the Marauder's
> Map for him to find.)
> 
> 
> --Margaret Dean
>   <margdean at e...<

I believe the reason so many of us dislike Snape for his remarks is 
because we realize how immature he is being.  Yes, we may have unkind 
thoughts about people we work with, but how many of those are 13-14 
year old children?  How many of us would *truly* make such hurtful 
comments to a child?  Many people endured snide, behind-the-hand 
comments or even mean, hurtful remarks to our face while in school.  
But we do not take that out on children today, 20 years later!

My personal problem with Snape is that so many of us *have* endured 
teachers similar to him, but they are much more in the minority now.  
However, Snape just keeps that myth alive.  The problem with a bad 
teacher is that it only takes one to convince people that that 
teacher is what most are like and that good teachers who care about 
their students personally and academically are hard to find.

We don't yet know all of Snape's secrets.  I hope that when they are 
revealed, he will be redeemed in my eyes.  Until then, I will 
continue to believe that there *is* NO excuse for his behavior and 
that he is simply one of those immature adults that I hate being 
around.

Angela Burgess